The AJ Saga part 2: My World Crashed Down Around Me
by NotCrazyJustWeird97
Summary: It's been three months since AJ's father, Tom Mason, left with the aliens to save his family. Now, AJ and her brother have been dealing with this. How do they respond when Tom returns suddenly? Will things work out for the best? Or will trouble find them once more? Follows Season 2, with my OC, Ali Jessica Mason. Sequel to When The Aliens Came.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is AJ Mason. I'm fifteen years old. My brothers and I are part of the Second Massachusetts, part of the resistance fighting the aliens that invaded our planet months ago. My dad, Tom, was also in the resistance with us, but three months ago, he left to board a mother-ship, when Ben (my twin) and I were threatened. You see, the aliens kidnap children and place harnesses on their backs. Eventually, under the influence of a harness, children turn into Skitters. They battle on the front lines and command the Mechs, giant robots which can wipe out whole groups of people in less than five minutes if they want. Ben and I were harnessed, but we were rescued. That doesn't always stop the effects of the harness. The aliens threatened to call us back. Dad went in exchange. Now, my brothers and I fend for ourselves, just me, Ben, Hal (my older brother by two years) and Matt (my younger brother by six years). However, I do have a friend, Logan, who patrols with me. We watch each other's backs. He's one of the best friends I've ever had. We met the day my dad vanished, and when he returned from the assault on the alien structure over Boston, we talked for hours.

Now, my story continues three months after my dad's disappearance. And things are about to get even hairier than before …

_**Falling Skies**_

Ben, Hal and I are watching from the windows of an old derelict building, armed with guns, waiting for Weaver's signal to shoot. Maggie and Jimmy are here too. I watch as two Mechs, and twice as many Skitters appear, chasing after Pope and two other fighters on motorcycles. There's a sudden explosion and then Weaver's yell of, "Open fire!"

But we wait. Wait until Hal tells us to shoot.

"Where the hell is that back-up?!" Weaver bellows. Maggie fires one of the shells from the RPG into the back of the Mech's head. It falls to the ground with a loud thud.

"Keep your heads down, make every shot count!" Hal orders.

We start firing at the Skitters, determined to bring them down. Even after Weaver orders us to cease fire, Ben continues shooting.

Hal roars, "Cease fire!" After firing a couple more rounds, my twin finally stops. We all stare at him in stunned silence, before - "Captain! We look good down here!"

"Get the hell outta there! We've got … eight minutes tops before those Beamers respond!"

I sling my weapon over the shoulder. Maggie ushers Jimmy out of the door, Hal and I are following closely until we notice that Ben is standing still.

I order, "Ben, come on, we're moving out."

He strains to see into the darkness outside. "We've got one still moving," he calls. "I can't get a shot."

"Well, leave it!" Hal insists.

Ignoring him, Ben jumps out of the window. I jump through after him. "Ben! Stop, let's just leave it!" I beg, running over and grabbing his arm. He shakes me off, before marching up to the Skitter and stabbing it, driving his knife into its brain.

"Ben, what the hell are you doing?" my older brother demands.

Ben turns with a grin on his face, which quickly slides off as a gunshot sounds behind him. "There's another one, I can feel it," he mutters, pulling out his gun and sneaking towards it.

The Skitter rounds the corner suddenly. I draw my weapon, ready to have Ben's back if I need to. But I don't, as he fires at the thing until it drops to the ground, revealing a man standing behind it.

My jaw drops. "Dad?" I murmur. It's him. It's really him! "Dad!" I sprint towards him. We all reach him as he hits the ground. There's blood seeping from a bullet wound in his abdomen. One left my Ben's gun, no doubt.

"Ben, Hal, AJ, you're alive," Dad rasps.

"We need to get him to the trucks," I say firmly. "Come on."

With difficulty, we all pull him to his feet. Ben and Hal drag him between them, while I run ahead to Weaver. "Don't leave!" I shout. "Weaver, we – we found him."

He frowns. "Who?" he demands.

"Dad. We found our dad," I pant. Just then, Ben and Hal appear with him. We all load him into the truck, and then head back to camp.

_**Falling Skies**_

Ben and I watch helplessly as Dad is carried from the truck.

"Doctor Glass!" Hal screams. "Doctor Glass!" She runs over and gapes as she spots Dad.

"Tom? What happened?" she asks.

Weaver mutters, "He was shot."

She looks shocked. "Was it a Mech?"

"Tell Ben it wasn't his fault," I hear Dad mumble.

"It was an accident. Friendly fire," Weaver says, talking more to Ben than to Anne.

Ben grabs Anne's arm as she enters the bus. "I didn't mean to. It was dark," he pants.

She pries her arm out of his grip. "Ben, I've gotta go," she tells him.

We climb into the bus via the other entrance and watch as Dad's laid on the table.

"Dad! Dad!" Matt shouts as he runs in. Hal grabs him quickly. "What happened to him?!"

"He's been hurt pretty bad, buddy," Hal murmurs.

I grip Ben's hand tightly in mine. "It's okay, Ben," I whisper. "It's all right."

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Matt demands, his eyes wide with fear.

Lourdes calls, "Guys, I know how much you wanna be here, but ..." Her voice trails away.

Weaver makes his way over. "She's right. Let's give 'em some room," he orders softly as we're ushered away.

Swiftly, I break past and run to Dad's side, gripping his hand. "You'll be okay," I assure him, before pressing my trembling lips to his forehead. "I love you, Dad."

Weaver pulls me out of the bus then.

_**Falling Skies**_

I'm sitting outside, shaking uncontrollably as the tears stream down my cheeks.

"AJ?"

I look up. "Logan," I croak.

He puts an arm round my shoulder, his blue eyes locking onto my brown ones. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"My dad is alive," I whisper. "He's alive, and he's in that bus and I can't see him."

"Hey, I know. But he got shot, AJ. They're working to save him, and I'm pretty sure you don't wanna see his insides, do you?" he says.

I give a small chuckle. "Not really," I reply. "You know, you make a valid point sometimes."

He smirks. "Oh, I always make a valid point," he tells me smugly.

I roll my eyes. "Always the modest one," I joke.

"Oh, you know it," he replies. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"You are the best friend I have ever had," I declare.

"Well, duh!"

_**Falling Skies**_

I sit in the bus beside Dad while he sleeps. My fingers are locked with his and I keep staring at him, hoping he'll wake up.

"Uh, hey, Dad," I mutter. "It's me, AJ, but, uh, you probably already guessed as much. So, I don't know, I'm hoping if I talk you that you'll wake up. Hey, remember the guy I was checking out, the day you vanished? Probably not, but he's now my best friend. Well, I say that, but Ben, Hal and Matt are my best friends still. Logan comes in at a close second though, you know?"

I sigh and lay my forehead on the mattress. "I missed you … I missed you so much. I thought – I though that I'd lost you. I love you so much, Daddy."

"He knows that."

My head snaps up and I whirl round to find Hal in the entrance of the bus. "I was just -"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I know. I heard," he says, stepping in. He places a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. I need your help finding Ben and Matt."

I stand up and kiss Dad on the cheek gently, before following Hal. When we find Ben and Matt, my little brother is clutching a rifle.

"Hey, Ben!" Hal calls. "What's Matt doing with a gun?"

"Ben's teaching me how to shoot," Matt says.

Ben regards Hal coldly. "I figured it was time. He needs to learn how to defend himself," he remarks.

Hal demands, "So you just gave him a rifle without asking me?"

"I might have to follow your orders on missions, but not here," he replies.

Hal snatches the rifle up and pulls out the magazine before ordering, "Back to camp, Matt." Matt shuffles his feet awkwardly. "Go back to camp."

He strops off. Hal hands the gun to Maggie. "We both know Dad didn't want that for him," he says, before turning to leave.

Ben's call of, "Three months ago," stops him in his tracks. "How do you know he'd say that now?"

"I don't know what he'd say now, and neither do you," Hal tells him. "Okay? So how about we let Dad make that decision when he wakes up?"

"Only way we win this war is to kill every Skitter we see. If Matt's load enough to load a gun, he's old enough to shoot it."

"After what happened with Dad, you think you're the best one to be giving lessons?"

I gape. "Hal -" I begin.

Ben cuts me off. "I just don't want him to be taken away the way they took me and AJ," he says. Hal begins to leave, but once again, Ben stops him. "Or your girlfriend, Karen."

That's when Hal snaps. He runs at Ben, swinging his arms. But they're caught in my twin's grip as he forces Hal to his knees. "I'm not the Math geek you used to push around. Deal with it." He lets go suddenly before walking off. I help Hal to his feet quickly before running after Ben.

"Stop!" I call. I grab his shoulder and whirl him round. "Ben, I don't understand."

"No," he agrees, "you don't."

"Then help me. Make me understand what is going on with you," I beg. "Please! Don't shut me out. Don't push me away. I'm worried about you. You're my brother and I'm scared for you."

His gaze softens a little. "AJ, you don't have to be scared," he promises me, cupping my face in his hands.

I let a couple of tears loose. "Well, I am scared," I mumble, throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his chest.

"Yeah, I know."

"I worry about you so much, Ben," I whisper.

He gives a dry laugh. "I realise. But you don't have to. I'm a big boy, I can look after myself," he reminds me.

I crack a smile. "I realise."

_**Falling Skies**_

As we're packing up the trucks, getting ready to move out, I hear Hal yelling as he and Maggie run towards us. "Captain, we've got a Mech convoy about a mile away," he informs Weaver. "They're straight east. They're coming this way."

"If we move the medbus now, Tom's not gonna make it," Weaver comments. "Convoy goes. Medical stays with Dr Glass until she can stabilise Tom. I need four volunteers to stay with the bus in case those Mechs turn up." Maggie, Hal, Ben and I offer to stay behind. "Get all the ammo you can grab. AJ's got the map, we'll wait for you twenty miles out. Stay safe." He walks away. "We're moving out, people! Five minutes!"

_**Falling Skies**_

We wait in the silent bus while Anne and Lourdes work on helping Dad. Suddenly we hear the Mechs.

"All right, guys, we've got incoming," Hal announces. "We're gonna go dark." He switches off all the lights on the bus and heads outside. I stay crouching with Ben. "All right, guys, we're gonna lay low and hope the Mechs pass us by. Nobody shoots unless I give the order." He looks at Ben. "Hey! All right?" Ben nods.

We stay as quiet as possible while the Mechs pass. I feel Ben's free hand lock around mine as they thud past us. When they're gone, we all grin and climb back onto the bus, before driving on to meet Weaver and the rest of the group.

_**Falling Skies**_

"Logan!" I yell as I jump into his awaiting arms. He stumbles back.

"Whoa!" he says. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you missed me a little."

I pull back a bit. "Oh, I missed you a lot," I reply, before leaning in slowly and pressing my lips to his gently.

He breaks the kiss. "I can tell."

"AJ!" Hal barks, storming over. He scowls at Logan for a moment until I'm lowered to the ground, and then he smiles, holding out his hand. "Break her heart, and I'll break your face."

"I expect nothing less from you," Logan says, shaking the proffered hand.

Hal looks at me. "And you, if he breaks your heart, tell me straight away."

I nod. "Aye, aye, cap'n," I joke.

Logan drapes his arm round my shoulders as Hal takes off. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to kiss you?" he asks.

"Less than three months?"

"Yup."

_**Falling Skies**_

Ben, Hal, Matt and I slept in the medbus last night, in case anything changed with Dad. I'm woken from my dream of walking into Nando's naked and ordering period period chicken by the sound of the curtain being moved.

I sit up and open my eyes slowly, only to see my dad awake and talking to Ben. "All that matters now is that we're together," he's saying.

That's when Matt wakes up and lets out a cry of, "Dad!" before running to him.

"Daddy!" I sob, as I run to his side. He places a hand on my cheek and smiles warmly.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Hal comments as he joins us. "I missed you, old man."

"I missed you too," Dad says. "I missed all of you."

I clutch his hand like a lifeline, not wanting to let go for fear I'll wake up and this will have been a cruel dream.

Carefully, we help him up and aid him in walking to the entrance of the bus, where a crowd has gathered to see him.

I hear people calling, "It's Tom!" and "Tom Mason!"

Weaver comes over and shakes his hand. "How are you feeling?" he asks.

"Better now," he answers. "We should talk."

"Plenty of time for that. You just get better first," he commands. "A lot of people will be glad to see ya."

He steps back and one by one, people come to shake Dad's hand. Dai. Anthony. Maggie. Jimmy. Then Logan.

I smile. "Dad, this is Logan," I state. "He's, um, he's my boyfriend now."

Dad stares for a moment before beaming at him. "Welcome to the family, son," he says.

"Uh, Dad, little early for that, don't you think?" I ask. "We've only been together for a few hours. Literally."

He chuckles. "Sorry, I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

"Just a little. But I love you for it." I hug him gently. "I love you so much."

"I love you too. All of you. So much."

**D'awwwwww! Well, my little girl's all grown up and she has a boyfriend now! And Tom's alive! Am I the only one who teared up a bit when Tom was talking to the boys at the end of that episode? Damn Daddy issues, man. I wish I had a dad like Tom, but unfortunately, I don't. Excuse me while I go bang my head on a wall about that fact. I hope you enjoyed. Review! Tell me what you think! I wanna know! As for the dream, it's an inside joke with me and my friends. I meant to say period period chicken. **

**Beth xxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I wake up with an arm wrapped around my shoulders. It takes me a moment to remember that it's Hal. I rub my eyes tiredly and sit up.

"Hal," I mutter. "Hal. Hal!"

"What?" he asks.

I shake my head. "You have to wake up. You've gotta go scouting today, remember?" I remind him.

With that, he bolts from the bed. I look over to the bed that Matt and Ben are sharing. They're both fast asleep. Silently, I climb out of the bed and pull on a set of semi-clean clothes. I brush my dark hair and sweep it up into a high ponytail at the top of my head.

Hal looks up briefly. "What's Weaver got you doing today?" he queries.

I shrug. "Looking for food with Logan," I answer. "No big deal."

"Be careful, okay?" he says.

"I'm always careful, Hal," I reply. "You know that."

He shakes his head lightly. "Well, I'm still reminding you. The one time I don't will probably be the one time something goes wrong," he tells me.

I laugh. "We'll be fine. Logan always has my back."

"Just so long as that's _all _he has," he says.

"Oh, come on, Hal!" I exclaim. "We've been dating for a few days! What exactly do you think we'll do?"

Matt mumbles, "Guys, I'm trying to sleep!"

As I make my way out of the tent, I lean over to Hal and hiss, "I'm not an idiot, you know. I'm not gonna throw myself at him and beg him for sex or whatever you think I'll do."

Once out of the tent, I start searching for Logan. He's not hard to spot. I see his tall frame and black hair and run over, grabbing his shoulders and jumping on his back.

"Jesus, AJ!" he cries, clutching his chest. I hop down, laughing.

"Gotcha!" I yell.

He scowls at me. "You're such a bitch sometimes," he says.

I grin. "I know," I reply. "C'mon, you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's get a couple of bikes and head out."

_**Falling Skies**_

As we're riding through the silent woods, I call to him, "Do you even know where we're going?"

He grins over his shoulder at me. "Not a damn clue. Kinda hoping we'll stumble across something!" I stop my bike, causing him to stop too.

"Logan, we can't just ride to God knows where," I say. "It'll take us forever to get back to camp."

"So?" he asks. "More time for just you and me."

I glare at him. "Well, we need to find somewhere for food," I tell him. "So, how about you come up with somewhere to go?"

"AJ, just riding can be fun," he insists.

I start my engine. "If you wanna be a dumbass and get yourself lost, then fine. Count me out," I say. "I'm gonna head back to Weaver and say we couldn't find anything because you took us in the wrong direction."

He calls, "Wait!"

"What?" I demand.

"There's a house over there," he says. Sure enough, if you squint through the trees, there is. "We could check it out."

I nod and we ride over until we're close, before climbing off of the bikes and walk up the rickety steps. The house is wooden, and old. The wood is rotting away slowly. I push the door gently with two fingers and it swings open.

"Hello?" I call.

Logan hisses, "Quiet! What if someone's in here?"

I step into the house as cautiously as possible, the floorboards creaking beneath me. "Hello?"

"What are you doing in my house?"

We both whirl round. In front of us is an old, round man with a rifle. Logan pulls his gun.

"Sir, I – We -" I stutter.

"What are you doing in my house?!" he repeats, louder this time.

I raise my hands. "We were just looking for food."

He shakes the gun. "Get out!" he screams.

"We're leaving, okay, sir? We're going," I say. He fires a shot suddenly, narrowly missing Logan's head. Then a final shot sounds and the old man falls to the floor, blood blossoming on his chest. I rush to his side and feel for a pulse. Nothing. Slowly and fearfully, I look up at Logan. "You killed him."

"He fired first," he mutters.

"Logan, you shot him!"

His face turns angry. "He shot at me!" he shouts. "I did what I had to!"

I stand up. "He was scared!" I yell. "You didn't have to kill him! You could have just disarmed him!"

"Forget it," he says. "You wanted food? I'll bet he has some." He heads through the house to look for food. I, on the other hand, find a blanket to cover the old man. When Logan returns with a pack full of food, I'm tucking the blanket under the poor man. "AJ, I'm sorry."

"Like you said, forget it," I reply. "He fired first."

And then I leave.

_**Falling Skies**_

When I make it back to camp, Ben is looking for me. "AJ!" he calls.

"What?!" I snap.

He steps back. "Sorry. I just needed to ask a favour," he says.

I sigh. "Sorry, Ben. I didn't mean to get mad. Rough scout. I'll tell you later," I tell him. "What's up?"

"I have to swim across the river. You wanna come with me? Keep me company, watch my back?" he asks.

"Sure thing," I answer.

He places a hand on my shoulder gently. "Are you okay?"

I bury my head in the crook of his neck. "No," I mumble.

"Tell me when you're ready to," he says.

_**Falling Skies**_

I'm shivering when Ben and I reach the other side of the river.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"Th-the water was f-f-freezing, Ben!" I reply.

He laughs. "It was in-"

I snap, "If you say 'invigorating' one more time, I will slap you. Fair warning."

He puts an arm around me, pulling me into his side. "Better?"

"How are you so warm?!" I demand, wrapping my arms around him. "Jesus Christ, you're like a radiator."

"Are you done?"

I shake my head. "Mm, not yet. So warm!" I answer.

He detaches me. "Well, we've gotta look around, so you can't keep hugging me," he tells me.

"If you say so."

"I do."

_**Falling Skies**_

We're walking through the woods with only torches to light our way.

"So," he begins, "you wanna tell me what was wrong earlier?"

I glance at him. "I was scouting with Logan."

He nods. "Yeah, I know. So, what went wrong?"

"We were looking for food. Found a house. There was an old man inside," I explain. "He got pretty confused and scared and he had a gun. He fired at Logan, so Logan shot him. He killed him and didn't seem to care."

"But you care," he says.

"Of course I do. That man probably went through a hell of a lot. He must have been terrified. I don't blame him for shooting!" I admit.

He stops and looks at me. "But you also can't blame Logan. If he hadn't fired back, you could have both been killed. If the guy was that scared, you couldn't have talked him down," he reasons.

I sigh. "Yeah, I guess I already knew that. It's just – It's hard, you know? People die at the hands of the Mechs and the Skitters, and then there's him, who survived for so long on his own and then died because we were looking for food."

"I get it, AJ. Really, I do. But this is the world we live in now. We don't really have much time for a moral compass when you're in that kind of situation. This world … it makes people go a little crazy now."

"I love you, Ben," I say, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "But you really need to shrink a little. Being shorter than you means I have to go on tiptoe to kiss you."

This makes him laugh as he start walking again. "Come on, shorty! Let's go!" he calls.

_**Falling Skies**_

As we come across the wreck of the beamer, a shrill buzzing passes through my head. "Oh, my God!" I groan. "What is that?"

Ben pulls apart the wreck, revealing a harness like thing there. It's glowing and moving. He takes a couple of pictures before stamping on it and shutting it down. The buzzing decreases. As we start our trek back to the river, something moves. We whirl round and -

"It's a deer," Ben states.

"Thank God. I can't deal with Skitters right now," I say.

We start walking again, but then the buzzing comes back. Almost following it, we stumble across a huge tower. Beamers and Mechs are entering and leaving the tower.

"My God," I mutter. "Is that a command centre for the aliens?"

He nods. "Maybe." He snaps more pictures, and then we get the hell out of there.

_**Falling Skies**_

"Where's Dad?" I ask Hal, when we arrive back at camp.

He looks awkward. "Um, AJ, Anne pulled something out of Dad's eye. Some kind of parasite. He told us to restrain him in the medbus until we get across the river," he tells me.

My jaw drops. "A parasite?" I repeat. "Left by the aliens?"

"Probably. We don't know what it's for yet, so don't panic," he says.

"I'm not but … why didn't Anne find it before?"

He shakes his head. "Your guess is as good as mine, squirt," he replies.

I sigh. "How's Matt taking it?"

"Not well. He doesn't wanna see Dad. AJ, I think – I think he's afraid."

"Of Dad?"

"Yeah," he answers.

I frown. "Well, I kinda don't blame him. For not wanting to see Dad. I mean, we just got him back and now there's something in him? If we lose him again … Matt probably doesn't wanna get too close to him in case we lose him."

"I think it's more than that. I think he's scared Dad will hurt someone."

I protest, "But Dad could never hurt anyone. I mean, he's the least violent person I know."

He nods. "I know that, but we don't know what they did to him."

"He's probably scared. He thinks this is a dream, and he'll wake up back with the aliens on that ship. He's worried that this isn't real, that we're not here, that -" I stop myself. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Is that what you felt like? When you got back?" he asks.

"Yeah. And Ben probably felt the same. Worse, in fact, because he was there for so long." I run my hands through my hair. "I mean, I'm just guessing here, so don't take my word for it."

He looks around at everyone getting ready to go and says, "AJ, I need you to stay on the medbus with Matt and Dad, okay?"

I shrug. "Sure thing. What are you gonna do?"

"A group of us are gonna go blew that tower up," he answers.

"Well, be careful, all right?"

"I always am." With that I give a quick goodbye and head to the bus.

_**Falling Skies**_

I'm sitting at the back of the bus with Matt tucked into my side. I rub at the spikes on the back of my neck absent-mindedly.

"Are they hurting you?" Dad asks.

My head snaps up. "No. Just a force of habit, I guess. They don't really hurt anymore. They occasionally rip my t-shirts though," I answer.

He chuckles, and his eyes flick to Matt. "You haven't said a word since you got on the bus. What's wrong, Matt?"

"Nothing," Matt mumbles.

"I'm still your dad, you know," he says.

He keeps his eyes down. "If you say so," he mutters.

Dad tells him, "You've gotta believe I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"That thing that came out of you, how do you know it didn't do something to you?" he queries.

"Honestly, I don't know," he replies. "That's why I've got this. Just to be safe, just to be sure. But what I do know in my heart is that you're my son. You're my Matt, my brave, strong boy. I'd never let anything happen to you. Even if that means me having to be tied up. You understand?"

My little brother nods and I ruffle his hair gently. Then Weaver yells, "Everybody take cover!"

I hiss, "Shit."

There's gunfire for a minute or so, and then it stops. I walk to the door of the bus. "The Beamer's are gone," I tell Matt and Dad. "It's okay."

Then I get that sinking feeling, and the buzzing starts to sound in my head. I grab the counter in the bus and squeeze my eyes shut tightly.

"AJ, what's wrong?" Dad demands.

"Skitters, Mechs, I don't know. They're on their way," I rasp. "Oh, man!" The bus jolts as it gets stuck and I grab the pole Dad's attached to. The ground shakes and I see a Mech approaching through the back window of the bus.

"You need to cut me loose," he orders.

Matt looks doubtful. "But you said you might -"

He gets cut off. "I know what I said," Dad interrupts. "Do as I say." I pull a pocketknife out and slice the bindings. "Get Matt across the bridge, now."

I grab Matt's hand and pull him off the bus, but Dad runs in the opposite direction.

"Dad!" I yell. "C'mon, Matty."

"What about Dad?!" he shouts.

I keep pulling him to the other side of the bridge. "I'll help him in a minute!" I answer. "Now, come on! Hurry!" As we reach the other side, I tell Weaver, "Dad's back there. Get me a gun."

Weaver grabs my arm. "What are you gonna do?" he demands.

"Help him," I reply, snatching up a shotgun. That's when Hal and Ben arrive.

"No, you won't," Hal corrects me. "I will."

He runs in Dad's direction. I go to run after him, but Weaver holds me back. "Hal's got this," he tells me.

I see Hal blast a couple of Skitters away, before he and Dad start running. "Come on!" I bellow. "Run!"

Suddenly Pope grabs the switch and press the button. The bridge explodes, with Dad and Hal still on it. "No!" I scream, trying to run towards it. Weaver catches me. "No! I have to help them! Dad! Hal!"

"We can't," Weaver tells me. "AJ, come on. We have to go."

"But, they -"

"Come on," he says softly, ushering me away from the burning mass.

_**Falling Skies**_

I'm sitting outside the medbus, my face buried in my hands. Weaver walks over and claps me on the shoulder. "As soon as we get to the next camp, you and I are going back with a search party," he assures me.

I nod silently, before getting up and heading over to Matt. "You okay, Matty?" I ask.

"In the bus, I stayed away from him," he murmurs. "I was afraid."

"He understood, kiddo," I promise him.

"What now? Hal's gone too."

I choke back the tears that threaten to fall. "We're gonna look for them," I answer. "We'll find them. We have to."

I hear footsteps behind me and then Pope's voice. "Listen, about your old man and your brother, I, uh, I'm sorry. What they did on the bridge -"

I cut him off as I stand up, whirl round and punch him in the jaw. I land a few more shots, before Dai grabs me and pulls me away. Even then, I manage to kick Pope a couple of times.

"I will kill you!" I scream. "You are dead! My brother! My dad! You bastard! You better pray I don't get ahold of you! You son of a bitch! You wanted my dad gone since he got back to camp! And you didn't care who got in the way!"

"Who's there?" I hear Ben demand.

Then, "Don't shoot, Ben."

I stop struggling. "Dad?!" I say. Dai lets me go as I run to Ben's side. Dad and Hal are walking towards us.

"Don't shoot," Dad repeats. "Once is enough, I think."

I sob with relief as I pull Dad, Ben and Hal into a hug. Matt joins us a second later.

"I thought -" I shudder as I try to get the words out.

"I know, squirt," Hal whispers.

I chuckle as Dad says, "River sucked off one of my boots. Slowed down our stride."

I wipe the tears from my cheeks. "Stop doing this to me! You'll give me grey hairs years in advance," I tell him.

Anne steps forward. "Tom Mason," she says, "I'm getting damn tired of losing you. I'm gonna tie a cowbell around your neck." She hugs him tightly.

"Word to the wise," Ben tells Dad and Hal, "don't piss AJ off." They look confused.

"Why?" Hal asks.

Pope calls, "The kid damn near tried to kill me."

I glare at him. "Keep talking, and I still might," I snarl.

"Whoa! That's enough, Ali," Dad informs me.

"Sorry," I mutter.

Hal grins. "Since when did you swing on people?" he teases.

I shrug. "I nearly lost you. I got mad."

"Well, they're here now," Ben says as he puts an arm round me. "Let's get going."

We all climb on the bus and start to head to our next camp. Airport, here we come!

**Yaaaaaaaay! Chapter 2 is done! And the whole Hal on the bridge thing was for Alexagleek, because she wanted to see AJ's reaction to Hal getting hurt. Not exactly him being hurt, but she comes close to losing him, so I figured it would suffice. As for the old man, I wanted to show how the invasion changed some people. I wanna say the next chapter will be up tomorrow, but it might not be, because I'm going to London to meet my great-aunt, who I haven't seen since Christmas due to family problems. Anyway, please review and let me know your thoughts. Adios!**

**Beth xxxxxxxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I watch in silence as Dad makes his way over to Pope. I've been keeping my eye on Pope since the bridge incident, not trusting him in the slightest. Suddenly the rest of the Berserkers attack Dad, putting a hood over his head and loading him into a van. I climb down from my hiding spot rapidly and start running into the airport, only to crash into … Pope.

"Nuh uh, little Mason," he says. "Come on."

"Shit," I mutter as I'm put in the van too. "Well, this could've gone better."

_**Falling Skies**_

We're dragged into a field, and I scowl at Pope. "When Weaver gets ahold of you, you'll wish you'd never been born," I snap.

He smirks. "Be nice, kid. I've got a gun, and you haven't, remember?" he sneers.

Dad and I get shoved to the ground. One of the Berserkers cuts the ropes on Dad's hands and pulls the hood off of his head.

"Sorry for all the dramatics, Professor," Pope says.

"What's this about?" Dad asks, placing a hand on my arm.

"I think you know," he replies. "I don't know what you're alien friends did to you, but I do not wanna find out. Since you and I go way back, I'm gonna give you the chance to do the honourable thing and walk away. Then I'll take little AJ here back to camp."

Dad stares at him. "Just like that? You expect me to leave the Second Mass?"

He nods. "Just like that."

"And you expect me to leave my kids in your care?"

"Your kids will be looked after as if they were my own," he assures him. "Even the spiky ones, unless they go full Skitter, in which case all bets are off."

"Oh, how thoughtful, considering you nearly killed Hal," I drawl.

My comment gets ignored as Dad tells him, "You won't get away with this."

Pope leans in. "Oh, I think I will. You'd be surprised how many people back at camp are creeped out of over your _triumphant _return," he informs him. "Not so many people will miss you as you might think. So do us all a favour. Start walking." Dad sits for a minute before Pope pulls him to his feet and shoves him back. "I said move!"

A sudden gunshot sounds and the bullet narrowly misses Pope's foot. Ben comes out of nowhere and grabs him from behind, holding a knife to his throat.

"Ben?!" I exclaim.

"Drop your weapons," he orders the Berserkers. They don't. There's another shot. "He won't miss next time."

Slowly, they all put their weapons down. Jimmy emerges from the trees. "Hey, Mr Mason, AJ," he greets.

Dad asks, "What are you doing here?"

"On our way back from patrol," Ben lies. I know he's lying, I can see it in his eyes. They move from side to side when he lies.

"You are a long way from the outer patrol -" Pope starts to say, but Dad cuts him off with a blow to the stomach.

"I'm just glad you're here," he says. "Jimmy, grab the rifle, we'll take them back to the camp.

Ben asks, "What about them?"

"That's for Weaver to decide."

I give Ben and Jimmy a smile. "My heroes," I remark.

Jimmy grins. "You bet," he agrees.

_**Falling Skies**_

"Ben, what were you and Jimmy doing out that far last night?" I ask as we sit in our tent the next morning.

"Patrolling," he answers.

I shake my head. "See, that's a lie. I know it is, because I know you," I tell him. "So … what were you really doing?"

He sighs. "Hunting Skitters."

"Come again?"

"They're dangerous," he informs me. "We bring them down, Jimmy and I."

I think about it for a moment before saying, "I wanna help."

He looks stunned. "What?"

I nod. "You heard me. I wanna help you. I hate them too, you know. And three people's better than two."

"Well … I – okay. Fine."

_**Falling Skies**_

We watch the Skitters from a distance.

"What are they doing?" Jimmy asks.

Ben replies, "I don't know. There's no Mechs with them."

He comments, "That's weird."

"The one with the red eye creeps me out," Ben admits.

"Tell me about it," I agree.

Jimmy loads a bullet into his rifle.

We look at him in surprise. "Is that one of the Berserkers' Dragon Breath bullets?" I ask.

He nods. "One of Pope's pyrotechnic rounds," he says. "I've got two of them."

"Let's toast some cockroaches," Ben tells us with a smile. He fakes a cough. We duck down as the Skitters look our way. "Wait for it … wait for it … Now!"

Jimmy fires, setting two of the Skitters on fire. The red-eyed one remains. Ben runs at it, knife drawn, but gets knocked down. Jimmy fires at it twice and misses, so he tries to hit it with the gun instead. The gun is knocked from his hands and the Skitter throws him at a tree. I watch in horror as he's impaled on a branch.

"Jimmy!" I yell, running to him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ben go to attack the Skitter. It raises one hand and he stops in his tracks, his spikes glowing blue. "Holy shit," I mutter. As it crawls away, his spikes stop glowing and he falls to his knees.

"Jimmy!" he cries as he gets up and runs over.

I panic. "Ben, what do we do?" I ask.

He thinks for a second. "We cut the branch from the tree. Leave it in him," he answers. I nod and he starts sawing at the branch.

"You'll be okay, Jimmy," I assure him. "You're gonna be fine, I promise."

Once the branch is detached from the tree, we carry him between us back to the camp.

_**Falling Skies**_

As we reach the camp, I scream, "Dad! Captain Weaver! Help!"

Dad, Weaver and Hal run over. "What happened?" Dad demanded.

"Skitters," Ben mutters as we get him to medbus. Once he's laid on the table, Weaver ushers us out to give Anne and Lourdes room to work. I'm covered in blood. My hands. My clothes.

"What in the hell were you three doing out there?" Weaver asks.

We hesitate before Ben answers, "Hunting Skitters."

They look furious. "Hunting?" Hal repeats. "Is that what you were doing when you and Jimmy found Dad?"

Dad steps in. "What were you three doing Skitters?"

"They put spikes on our backs, they killed Mom, they killed everyone," Ben replies.

"Like we don't enough combat, do you have to go looking for it?" Weaver asks, his voice low and angry.

"Until every last one of those things is dead, yes," he says.

Dad takes Hal's gun. "Hal, get them back to the tent, get them cleaned up," he orders.

Ben shakes his head. "No, I'm going back to the medbus."

"You can't walk around camp looking like that."

Hal leads us back to the tent and tells us to sit down. I sit beside Ben on a bed. My older brother comes over with a load of cotton wool pads and a bottle of water. Wetting the wool, he says to me, "Gimme your hands, AJ."

I do as he says. As he wipes away the blood, I realise I'm shaking all over.

"I'm sorry," Ben whispers. "That wasn't meant to happen."

Hal barely looks up. "I know," he murmurs. Once my hands are clean, I take the wool and the water and start to clean Ben up gently.

Wiping the cut on his head, I tell him, "When Anne's done, we'll get that fixed properly, okay?"

He rests his head on my shoulder suddenly and I put my arms round him as he cries on my shoulder.

_**Falling Skies**_

We're waiting outside the medbus, but I can feel eyes burning into me. Every time I look up, Hal is watching me and Ben.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" I hear Ben ask.

"I'm not staring," Hal replies.

"Yeah, you are. You got something to see?"

He chews the inside of his cheek for a second before saying, "Yeah, I do."

Weaver breaks it up before it gets bad. "Easy, boys."

"I'm gonna get some coffee," Hal mutters.

I reach out and take Ben's hand. "Calm down, Ben," I say. "Don't let your temper get the better of you."

When Dad gets back from his patrol moments later, he heads over to Ben and hands him something. "Jimmy's compass. Give it to him when he wakes up?"

Anne exits the bus.

"How is he?" Weaver asks.

"I've done everything I can," she answers. "The rest is up to Jimmy."

"He's a fighter."

Ben gets up and storms off. Dad goes to find him. I look up at Anne. "Can I see Jimmy?" I ask.

She nods and I walk into the medbus. He's unconscious. I sit beside him and say nothing for a while. Then, just as I start to drift off to sleep, a hand on my shoulder startles me. I look up to find Ben standing over me.

He sits next to me. "Hey."

"Hey," I mumble. "Feeling any better?"

"No … you?" he asks.

I shake my head. "I can't think of what to say to him," I croak. "When Dad was unconscious, I talked to him. With Jimmy, I just … you get it, right?"

He nods. "Yeah, I get it."

"Thank God, because I can't explain it properly."

Dad enters the bus then. I get up and leave him and Ben to talk. Hal's waiting outside. I go to walk past him but he grabs my shoulder and spins me round to face him.

"AJ, we need to talk," he tells me.

"Why?" I ask.

He sighs. "Please, just talk to me," he begs. "You always tell me what's going on with you. Don't shut me out now."

I throw my hands in the air. "You wanna know what's going on?" I snap. "Fine! I knew Ben was lying to me the other night when I asked why he was so far out. I was worried about him! So I went along too, and now Jimmy's hurt! I tried to help and I couldn't! All right?" My voice cracks. "I just wanted to help."

"I know that," he says. "I know you wanna help, but sometimes you can't."

"You think I don't know that?!" I shout. "Every since Dad … All I've tried to do is help! Help Matt, help Ben, help you, help everybody! But nothing I do makes the slightest difference to anyone here! To them, I'm a freak. I'm – I'm a _razorback._ That's all I'll _ever _be to them." I pull out of his grip and run off to find a place to hide.

_**Falling Skies**_

As I sit in my hiding spot, I hear someone yelling my name and crawl out. "What?" I ask.

Weaver's eyes are red as he helps me to my feet. "AJ, it's Jimmy."

"He didn't make it … did he?"

"No," he answers. "No, he did not."

"I don't – I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just -" I stammer.

He nods solemnly. "I know. I know."

_**Falling Skies**_

I lean into Hal as we stand around Jimmy's grave, ignoring the gun digging into my side.

Weaver stands before us all. "How do you measure somebody? How do you define their worth? A year ago, Jimmy was just a boy. He was just a little boy. And then things fell apart, and he had to grow up and leave that little boy behind. He had to become a soldier. He had to learn how to fight. And he did. And he is now defined by those of us who owe him our lives. He is measured by his bravery … This day came too soon. He died too young. But he died a hero to me. And I am proud to have served with him. Jimmy … We'll remember." He picks up a handful of dirt. "May the next world be kinder to Jimmy than this one ever was."

He scatters the dirt in the grave and the rest of us follow suit. Matt threads his hand through mine and I link my fingers with his, looking down and briefly smiling at him.

"This wasn't your fault," he tells me. "Yours or Ben's. It's the Skitters'. Don't blame yourself."

"I won't, Matty. Just for you," I reply.

He hugs my waist gently. "Good. Because I hate it when you guys are all stressed out. It stresses me out," he says.

I nod. "The last thing we need is you getting stressed out."

"Exactly. So cheer up, okay?"

"Okay. I will."

**Waaaaaaaaa! Jimmy's dead! I can't believe it! It's not fair! Now, I'm back at school tomorrow (for crying out loud) so updating might be a bit difficult. I'll do my best though. I hope you enjoyed, lemme know what you think! **

**Beth xxxxxxxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ben, Hal and I are out scouting. We're crouched behind a car, outside of an old factory, where a couple of Mechs are patrolling.

"See that steam?" Hal says. "And the lights on? Building's got power." He pulls out a map. "Well, whatever they're up to in there, it's none of our concern. Weaver wants us to find the safest way to Charleston, which means we'll steer a wide path around this place." He folds up the map. "You're quiet lately," he adds to Ben.

"Got nothing to say," Ben mutters.

He stares at him long and hard. "You eat by yourself, you barely sleep, it's like you're a different person," he tells him.

He shakes his head. "I don't wanna talk about it."

"We all miss Jimmy. But you gotta figure out a way to put that behind you."

Suddenly there's a roar from behind us. We whirl round to find three people making off with our bikes.

"Hey!" I bellow. "Those are our bikes!"

Hal throws a rock, trying to catch one of them, but he misses. "You believe that?" he asks. "Where'd they come from? We can't go back to camp without those bikes." Ben closes his eyes. "What are you doing?"

He holds up one hand. "Just trying something," he murmurs. His eyes flutter open. "They're headed east."

"How'd you know?" Hal demands.

"I can hear their engines," he answers.

I laugh and clap him on the shoulder. "Oh, dude," I chuckle, "you've _got _to teach me that."

_**Falling Skies**_

We track the thieves to a warehouse, using Ben's crazy hearing skills. Hal hands over his gun to me and he goes in, telling us to find a way round. We make our way up the walkways that run along the ceiling of the building, where we watch as Hal approaches.

There's fifteen kids there, and they pretty much all have weapons on our brother.

"I'd back off if I were you," he advises.

"Oh, yeah?" the leader says.

Ben calls out, "Yeah."

They all look up, to see us two with our guns trained on the leader.

"Now, if they don't stand down in five seconds," Hal says, "you die. One … Two ..."

The girl standing beside the leader says something to him in Spanish, to which he gives what appears to be a swift, angry reply.

He continues counting, "Three …"

The girl hisses, "Diego," while lowering her gun slightly.

"Four -"

"Stand down," Diego calls.

Hal remains emotionless as he orders, "Put your guns down, all of you. Put your guns on the ground."

Me and Ben rush down from the walkway as our brother steps closer to the leader. "Diego, is that your name?" he asks. "Well, I'm Hal. Those are my siblings, Ben and AJ."

Ben gives a tiny wave, without fully removing his hand from the gun. I just nod.

"Just take the bikes and go," the girl pleads.

Hal backs up and takes his gun back from me. We look round at the ragtag group of kids. "Just you?" I query. "No adults?"

"We don't need them," one of the children tells me.

Another adds, "Adults get us killed."

"We look out for each other," the girl says.

I clear my throat. "We have a group not far from here. We might be able to spare some bikes parts, definitely some food and water. You all look like you could use a good meal … No offence."

We end up taking a group of six with us, including the leader and the girl. I assume she's his girlfriend.

"Thanks," they mutter as they pass us.

_**Falling Skies**_

A group gathers as we roll into camp on the bikes. The girl is sitting on the back of mine. As I climb off, Logan walks over.

"Hey," he greets.

I grin at him. "Hey yourself," I reply.

"What do we have here?" Weaver asks.

"We found them holed up in a warehouse, half-starved, no adults," Hal answers.

The girl pushes past me until she's standing in front of Weaver. His jaw drops. "Jeanne?" he murmurs.

She throws her arms around him, sobbing, "Dad!"

"Jeannie!"

We all watch, stunned, at their reunion.

Logan softly murmurs in my ear, "Holy shit. Weaver has a daughter?"

I just nod silently.

_**Falling Skies**_

"You know," Logan says, as we sit in my tent, "if those kids didn't steal your bikes, Weaver wouldn't have his daughter back."

We both sitting on my cot. I'm cross-legged between his legs with his arms round my waist.

"There are easier ways of doing things," I reply. "They could've asked for help."

He chuckles. "They wanted to be independent," he reasons.

Gently, he places my hair over my right shoulder, out of the way, and begins to kiss my neck. I giggle and turn round to kiss him properly, wrapping my legs round his waist and draping my arms round his neck. He grips my hip with one hand and buries the other in my hair.

"Hey!"

I jump back to find Hal glaring at us from the tent entrance. I give an awkward wave. "Hey, bro," I greet.

He scowls at Logan. "Get to your own tent," he snaps.

Without any argument, my boyfriend all but leaps off the bed and sprints through the tent flaps. I lie back on the narrow mattress and sigh.

"What's the big deal?" I ask. "We were just kissing."

He comes over and nudges my feet out of the way, before lying beside me.

"You're fifteen years old, Ali," he reminds me.

I smirk. "You're calling me Ali. Must be serious business," I joke.

He laughs, before turning stern again. "You shouldn't be kissing anyone like that," he says, "especially when you've only been dating a couple of weeks."

"In this world, a lot could happen in a couple of weeks," I reason. "I could die. Or he could. _Carpe diem._"

"What is that, Spanish?" he asks.

I chuckle. "Latin. It means 'seize the day'."

"Don't go seizing anything else, okay?" He sits up. "C'mon, we gotta help Diego load up the supplies," he tells me.

As we exit the tent, I turn to him and assure him, "The day is definitely the only thing I'll be seizing, I promise you that."

We head over to the truck. I grab a huge box and lift it up with ease, before pushing it into the truck bed. My hair falls to one side, revealing the spikes on my neck.

"Those are some weird piercings," Diego remarks.

I give a grim smile. "They aren't piercings," I say.

He frowns. "So, what are they?" he asks.

"I was harnessed. These spikes were left behind when the harness was taken off," I answer, rubbing at them.

"_¡Santo dios!_" he exclaims.

I shrug. "It's not that shocking. I'm not the only one. My brother has them too. They're not too big a deal. They don't hurt, at least," I explain.

As Jeanne and Weaver come along, Ben and I climb into the truck and sit on the boxes to guard them. Hal's our designated driver with Maggie riding shotgun.

"See you in an hour, Matty!" I call to our little brother, waving as we drive away.

_**Falling Skies**_

As we pull up to the warehouse, we see a couple of cars outside, covered in blazing fires. I pull my gun and climb from the truck bed. The furniture inside the warehouse is a mess, the building dark and messy. Possessions are scattered across the floor. There's an eerie silence, save for our footsteps.

A sobbing rings out as we look around. "Help me!"

We rush to a small room, where a little kid is curled up in the corner, crying.

"Johnny!" Diego says, running to him. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Chinches," he sobs.

Hal's eyes widen. "Skitters," he whispers.

The kid chokes out, "They took everybody."

"Hey, buddy, how long ago was this?" he asks.

"I don't know," he answers.

Ben and I exchange a look as he states, "They're gonna be harnessed."

_**Falling Skies**_

We all stand in Weaver's tent, around a table where a large map is spread out.

"This factory," Diego says, "this is where we've seen a lot of harnessed kids."

I add, "And that's the building we saw when we went scouting yesterday. It has power and a shit load of Mechs guarding it."

Maggie suggests, "Maybe they turned the factory into a harness facility."

"That would explain the security," Dad says.

"Okay, Ben, AJ, what do you remember about the place where you were harnessed?" Weaver asks.

That question takes me by surprise. "What?" I look at Ben, hoping he'll answer so that I don't have to,

"Not much," he answers, "just fragments."

Dad nods. "Anything you can remember would be helpful," he tells us.

He gulps. "First they kept us in a holding room."

"For how long?" Diego demands.

"I-I don't know," he stammers. "Then they took us to the harnessing unit."

Weaver takes charge. "What was the distance between the holding room and the harnessing unit?" he asks.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"AJ, can you remember anything?" Dad queries softly.

"I was unconscious for most of it. I mean, I woke up when they ..." My voice goes quiet. "... when they harnessed me. A Skitter put it on me. There were people holding me down though. That's all I really remember."

Diego snaps, "All right, we're wasting time. We know they're in there, let's go."

Weaver glances up. "Not so fast," he says. "We need a plan. Improvising gets people killed."

"Yeah, while you're sitting around making plans, they're harnessing our friends," he replies.

"I'm not gonna put people's lives at risk while you run in there half-cocked," Weaver tells him.

"Fine. Stay here with your maps. I'm going in," he says.

Weaver growls, "I said no."

Diego glares at him. "I don't take orders from anybody!" he shouts. "Especially someone who can't take card of his own family."

At that, the captain dives across the table and grabs the boys by his jacket, pulling his face close and snarling, "You listen here, sonny boy, you do not talk to me about my family!"

"Stop!" Jeanne yells as she forces them apart.

"I told you he hasn't changed," Diego mutters, before storming out.

Weaver sighs. "Jeannie, I'm sorry -"

She cuts him off. "If you were sorry, you'd be different, not the same angry control freak. This is _exactly _why Mom kicked you out."

"Jeannie!" he calls as she walks out. He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "Well, let's go after them." He heads out of the tent and I hear him call, "Grab your weapons! We head out in five!"

Ben puts an arm round me as we walk out of the tent.

"Ben, AJ," Dad calls to us. "You don't have to go along on this one."

Ben asks, "What are you talking about?"

He steps in front of us. "Just you two going back to a harnessing facility, I'm a little worried," he says.

"Worried we might freak out?" I guess.

"No. No one's thinking that," he answers.

Ben nods. "Good. Because we're going."

"Just wanted to let you know you had a choice."

I flash him a fleeting smile. "Okay. Thanks." I remove my arm from Ben. "I'm gonna go fnd Matty, tell him where we're going."

As I walk round the camp, there's no sign of my brother. "Matt!" I yell. "Matty? MATT!" I duck into our tent. He isn't there. I run back to Dad and the others. "Dad! Matt's gone. I can't find him."

He looks terrified. "What?!"

"I've looked everywhere. I don't know where he is," I say.

"He's gone!" Weaver calls. "Jeanne too. They took the bikes."

Dad gapes. "They went without us?"

We climb into the truck. Hal puts a hand on my back. "We'll find him," he assures me.

"Yeah," I croak. "I know." I just don't know what shape he'll be in when we do.

_**Falling Skies**_

We head in through the front of the harnessing facility: me, Dad, Weaver, Hal and Ben. Maggie, Dai and Tector make their way in through the back.

I hear Matt's cries as we go in. With a rush of anger, I sprint into the room, knocking aside the Skitter, and grab the harness about to attach itself to my brother's spine. I throw it onto the ground and spray it with bullets until it stops moving. There's gunshots as the others bring down the Skitter.

"AJ!" Matt sobs as I detach him from the table. He throws his arms round my neck as I balance him on my hip, burying my face in his hair.

"It's okay," I whisper, as tears travel down my cheeks. "You're all right."

The sudden smashing of glass steals my attention as Ben shoots at the tank where the harnesses are being kept. A torrent of water floods into the room. Releasing Matt, I shoot and kill as many of those vile things as I can.

I hear Weaver's cry of pain and turn to find a harness on his leg. He falls the ground as Jeanne rips it off. With the butt of his gun, Weaver crushes the harness, causing it to emit shrieks of pain. Together, Jeanne and Dad help support Weaver, and after freeing Johnny, we get the hell out of dodge.

_**Falling Skies**_

I'm lying on the bed in my little tent, with a sleeping Matt curled around me. My fingers are lazily combing his curly hair as I stare up at the ceiling. He didn't settle for hours when we got him back for camp. To be honest, I was pretty shaken up too. The thought of my little brother being harnessed, I just … It scares me. I've been there, I've had one of those things on my back. I know that I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Matt stirs beside me. I lift my head and look at his sleeping face. So peaceful … So innocent. As I lie there, watching him, the tent flaps open and Dad peers in.

"Hey, AJ," he whispers.

I smile. "Hey, Dad," I murmur back. He creeps in and sits down beside the bed. I reach out one hand, which he takes and holds tightly. "He's okay, you know."

He nods. "Yeah," he croaks. "I know that. He's got you."

"We saved him. They won't get him. Not ever. I won't let it happen," I say fiercely, whether to assure myself or Dad, I don't know.

"I won't either," he agrees. "Neither will Hal or Ben. We'll always stick together."

I gulp. "We're the Masons," I state. "We're family. And family always stays together, right?"

He reaches out and smooths down my hair. "That's right, AJ," he says. "Get some sleep. You'll need it."

I drift off to his gentle touch, and as I sink into a world of darkness, I swear I hear him murmur, "They won't get you either."

**I'm sorry! I'm a horrible, evil, nasty person who hasn't updated in months, please forgive me! Hold onto your rotten tomatoes and let me know if you like this chapter. I will TRY to update ASAP, but I'll make no promises. Thanks for reading, **

**Beth xxxxxx**


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